


Clear Waters

by ACosmicKid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Alfor the Chief of police, Alternate Universe, Angst, Coran the doctor, Death, Fluff, Lance is excite, Lance tries, Lotor is kind of a creep, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mer!Lance, Shiro is really nice, Tooth Rotting Fluff, and Allura is a cadet in training, another universe, but also sad boys, in this universe Shay also works at the hospital, lots of fluff, mermaid, merman, merperson - Freeform, mythical creatures, shance, though i dont really talk about that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-01-09 20:16:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12283629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACosmicKid/pseuds/ACosmicKid
Summary: Freshman in college, Lance McClain has a secret that not even his best friends know about. One day he meets a very nice (and attractive) man, and they become friends. Will he discover Lance's secret? Will the friendship advance into something more?





	1. Lance and Friends

Lance sighed as he submerged himself in the clear water of his pool. It had been almost two days since he's gotten a chance to swim, and he'd been unbelievably uncomfortable. He felt the familiar tingling and stretching sensation as his legs melded together and shiny, blue scales surfaced again. He sunk all the way under the water and swam around. He was really lucky he had a private pool, so he didn't have to try and be discreet in a public pool.

 

Lance lived with a couple of his friends, Hunk and Pidge. Hunk was working and Pidge was hanging out with her brother, so Lance finally had some alone time. His housemates didn't know about his merman side, but they knew his human side well. They'd all been friends since they were little, and they grew up together, but Lance had managed to keep his mother’s side a secret. His father was a sailor who had found Lance’s mother on a personal journey to find himself. He'd fallen in love with her, and they'd ended up having a child. They discovered the child was able to change from human, to merperson, and back again at will. So twice a year, every year they'd travel to the coast of Texas so they could see Lance’s mother.

 

Every couple of days, if Lance didn't get to shift forms he'd start getting itchy, dry, jumpy and antsy. Luckily it was pretty easy to get the house to himself, cause his friends were pretty busy with college and work. Speaking of college, Lance emerged from the water and glanced at the clock hanging from the wall, sighing. He needed to go to class soon, so reluctantly he let his tail split apart and his scales disappear, and he climbed out of the pool. He couldn't miss his very first class of college.

 

*****

 

He was going to be late, he was _going to be late!!_ He speed walked through the hallway of the building, looking down at his map, desperately trying to find the room he was supposed to be in. He was pulled from his frantic thoughts when he ran into something firm and… Warm. He looked up to see the confused face of the handsomest man he'd ever seen. His jaw was strong and chiseled, his eyes were a kind gray, and there was a mysterious scar across his nose. Not to mention the muscles.

“S-sorry,” Lance got out, his eyes flickering around to everywhere but the handsome face of this man, lingering on his map. The man must have noticed this, and tilted his head.

“Oh, it’s alright. Hey, do you need help finding your class?”

 

Lance nearly jumped out of his skin. Was this man God? His voice was smooth and deep and kind, and he was pretty much offering to be Lance’s savior. The boy nodded quickly.

“Yes, please, oh god.” He said in a relieved tone. The man smiled and Lance thought he'd melt. He asked Lance what class he was going to, and when he told him the man exclaimed that's where he was going to. Lance was relieved and horrified at the same time. Relieved because this man knew exactly where to go, but horrified because Lance had been walking in the exact opposite direction that he was supposed to.

 

They began walking, and Lance realized he didn’t know his savior’s name.

“Hey, so, uh, what’s your name? If you don't mind me asking.” He quickly added the last part, not wanting to sound rude.

“Oh, right, I’m Takashi Shirogane, but my friends call me Shiro.” He answered.

“So.. Am I a friend?”

“I don't see why not.” Shiro said, a beaming smile on his face. Lance couldn't help but blush, mentally cheering. He got a friend on his first day! Score Lance: 1 Depression: 0. Depression would have had a much higher score but Lance was starting another round for College.

 

“So, what’s your name?” Shiro asked. Lance felt dumb for forgetting.

“Oh, I'm Lance. Lance McClain.” He said smoothly. What came out of Shiro’s mouth was something that Lance would have never expected for one million years.

“Lance.. That’s a beautiful name.” Shiro said it carefully, like it was something precious and amazing that should be handled with the utmost of care. Damn this guy for being so… Amazing. And hot. And helpful.

“Th-thanks,” Lance said, thanking the gods that his voice didn't crack.

 

The room wasn't far away and they arrived there quickly. Lance sighed in relief as he realized they were on time. Lance and Shiro sat next to each other near the back of the classroom, quietly asking each other questions throughout the lecture.

 

****

 

Lance stared at the pre-typed message on his phone. He'd been able to get Shiro’s number, and he may or may not have set his contact name as “Heavenly Hottie.”

 

“Hey there, It’s Lance. Me and a couple friends are gonna head out to see a movie around six. Wanna come?”

 

Lance had to psyche himself up and just press send without thinking so he wouldn't chicken out. Soon he saw the typing bubble appear and he was so nervous he couldn't even blink. Then a message appeared, his phone vibrating.

 

“I could but my brother is hanging out with me today, would it be alright if he came?” Shiro replied. Lance was partially stunned that he'd actually replied.

 

“Totally, that's cool. I'd love to meet him.” As Lance pressed send he couldn't help but think about the fact that he was already meeting Shiro’s family.

 

He spent the time until the movie picking out the best and most flattering outfit he could, ending up with a pair of black skinny jeans, his signature gray shirt and his jacket. He double checked everything, then triple checked everything. When Hunk and Pidge arrived, carpooling from their work, to pick him up for the movie he practically leaped out the door. He told them what was happening and they congratulated him on getting his number, and they were excited to meet Shiro and this mystery brother.

 

As they drew closer to the theater Lance began obsessively checking and fixing his appearance. Hunk calmly told him to relax, and he tried, he really did, but he could already feel himself shaking with nervousness. He found himself having the urge to impress Shiro. When they found a parking spot, Lance nearly lept from the car, feeling adrenaline pump through him.

“Woah, there, Lance!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Chill, dude.” Pidge added, climbing out of the car along with Hunk.

“Sorry, guys, I’m just.. Really excited!” Lance apologized, shifting from foot to foot. Hunk had already bought tickets earlier that day and passed them out to his friends. As they walked to the theater Hunk suddenly had a thought.

“Hey, do you know if Shiro and his brother were actually able to get tickets?” He asked, and that made Lance falter for a moment.

“Well… I figure he would have texted me if he wasn’t able to get tickets.” He responded. Damn, now he was worried.

 

But soon his worries were crushed as he saw Shiro by the doors! Lance instantly perked up and began waving to him. Shiro waved back as he noticed him, smiling

“Hey, Shiro!” Lance exclaimed, a big smile on his face.

“Hi, Lance!” He said back, almost as equally excited. But, let’s be fair, no one could reach Lance’s level of excited-ness. Next to Shiro stood a kid, about Lance’s age, with purple eyes and black hair in the style of… a mullet. Really? Someone had a mullet still in this day and age? That was really… well, if Lance was being frank, gross. But at least the mullet looked clean. Lance quickly looked away from the atrocious hairstyle, not able to bear looking at it for a second longer.

“So, is this your brother?” He asked. Shiro nodded happily.

“Yep, Lance this is Keith, Keith this is Lance.” He introduced. Lance stuck out his hand for this mullet-boy to shake. They shook hands then Lance introduced his friends.

“This is Hunk and this is Pidge.” He said. Hunk waved and Pidge finger gunned.

 

“Well, the movie should be starting soon, so we better go inside.” Shiro said after saying hi to Hunk and Pidge. They all agreed so they went into the building, purchasing popcorn, candy and drinks, then heading into a theater. There was almost no one in the theater so they got great seats right in the middle. The order of their seats went Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Shiro then Keith. Lance was sitting between two big, cuddly guys and was very content. For now. Because what Hunk hadn’t told Lance, was that this was a horror movie. Had Lance known that he might not’ve come. He was not a fan of horror movies. He’d watched one as a child and it had utterly traumatized him.

 

About a half an hour into the movie, the jumpscares really started getting to Lance, and he totally forgot about trying to act brave in front of Shiro. He felt like fear was beginning to consume him, and it was not fun. He had finished his popcorn and hadn’t touched his drink or his candy. He could feel himself shaking and gripping his jacket, but what he couldn’t feel was Shiro’s worried gaze on him.

 

Lance looked terrified. He was trembling, his knuckles were white from gripping his jacket and his pupils were shrunk. And Hunk had fallen asleep so he couldn’t comfort Lance. And Shiro hated seeing people scared or sad or hurt, so he took it upon himself to comfort Lance. He draped his non-prosthetic arm over Lance’s shoulders, gently pulling him closer.

 

Lance was abruptly pulled from his fear as he felt something warm drape across his shoulders. He unconsciously leaned closer to the source of the warm limb, feeling relaxed. He wasn’t alone. He was in the real world and not being chased by a clown with an axe. There were people he cared about around him. He was safe. Lance closed his eyes, leaning his head on Shiro’s shoulder… Oh. OH. Shiro’s arm was around his shoulders! He was comforting him! They were cuddling during a movie!! A blush spread across Lance’s cheeks and he smiled, feeling a little giddy. He couldn’t help but nuzzle a little closer.


	2. Hanging Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chit Chats, near secret reveals, and cuddles.

How Lance had managed to fall asleep while loud screams and roars and sounds of blood splattering were booming from giant speakers, he could only guess. Maybe he was more tired than he’d thought? Maybe it was the warmth and comfort Shiro brought him? Lance might never know for sure.

 

But what mattered now were the shining, gray eyes peering down at him with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

“Lance…” A smooth, deep voice seemed to coo, “Lance.. The movie’s over..” But Lance didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to leave the comfortable cushion that he seemed to be laying on. He closed his eyes again and nuzzled deeper into the warmth. Hm, whatever he was sleeping on was a lot more cushioned than he thought it was originally. Wait, what was he sleeping on again?

 

To the side Lance heard light snickering and the click of an iPhone camera. To the other side of him he heard an annoyed sigh. Before Lance sat up he inhaled the nice musky scent of.. Of… oh. OH GOD. His eyes flew open and he realized his face was nuzzled right in between Shiro’s lovely pecs. He sat up instantly and realized he’d also somehow migrated from his chair to straddling Shiro’s lap. Shiro’s cheeks were a light pink, but Lance’s face was ablaze.

 

How could he play this off?? The answer was he couldn't, so he tried to just.. Handle it the responsible way. And by that he means stuttering uncontrollably as he clambered off of Shiro’s lap. Between the incoherent babbling, Lance must have formed an apology, because Shiro quickly stood up, reassuring him not to be worried.

“Hey, don't worry, it's alright! It's alright, I don't mind.” He said quickly, recognizing Lance’s state of distress. The boy covered his face with his hands. Why was Shiro so nice?? The man gently put a comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“Yeah, let's go,” Hunk piped up, smiling knowingly at Lance.

 

Without another word they all left the theater, being hit by the smell of fresh popcorn. Shiro placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder again and had them walk slower until they were at the back of the group.

“Hey.. If it makes you feel any better.. I kind of liked it.” Shiro said quietly, before he could stop himself. Lance’s blush that had been starting to subside roared back to life.

“O-oh,” he said. Shiro was extremely embarrassed. Why did he say that?? It wasn't a lie.. But Lance didn't need to know that!! Shiro’s thoughts were stopped as Lance spoke again.

“Th-then… Maybe, w-wanna hangout again? Sometime this week?” He asked. Shiro felt like fireworks were exploding in his stomach. Lance was just too cute. He smiled, melting Lance’s heart unknowingly.

“I’d love to,” he replied, his hand moving to Lance’s other shoulder so he could wrap his arm around him.

 

Lance had texted Shiro the minute he'd gotten in the car, and they'd figured out when and where they were going to hangout. They decided to hangout at Lance’s house on Saturday, sometime after 10 am.

 

****

 

It was Saturday. And Lance had managed to forget Shiro was coming. Lance had told him he was free all day so Shiro could come over whenever. But he had forgotten that. But, honestly, you can't really blame him. It'd been an entire week! But now Lance was swimming in the pool, fully merman. He had had only one other opportunity to swim that week, and he’d only had 10 minutes. He needed to swim, and it had seemed like the perfect time to do so.

 

He glided through the water, his scales a shining blue in the sunshine. He sunk down to the bottom of the pool, watching the caustics on the bottom of the pool dance and shimmer. After a while he let himself float back to the surface of the pool, watching the clouds and identifying their shapes.

 

Suddenly he heard a voice call from the other side of the house.

“Lance? Are you here?” He heard. Oh. Oh no. Now he remembered. Shiro!!

“I-I’m here!” He called back, swimming to the edge of the pool and pulling himself out, feeling his tail begin to split apart. He heard footsteps on the grass on the side of the house. He grabbed his towel, his legs barely forming. He wrapped it around his waist, standing up. His gills began to finally go away. He heard the gate’s lock clang open. Why did it take so long for him to transform?? The squeak of the gate was heard. There were footsteps on the concrete. His last scales barely disappeared as Shiro was in view.

 

“Oh, there you are! Sorry I didn't text you earlier, the wifi at home wasn't working.” Shiro said, not quite realizing Lance was wearing a towel and _only_ a towel. Lance nodded.

“O-oh, yeah, no, that’s fine. Don't worry.” He said, his cheeks turning pink. He tried not to show how hard he was breathing or how bad he was shaking. That was terrifying. He did not want Shiro knowing what he was.

 

“Hey, s-sorry, just gimme a sec to go change. I'll be right back.” Lance said and quickly went inside. Shiro sat down on a pool chair, and he may or may not have watch Lance’s bare, long, legs carry him inside. Damn, Shiro was falling quicker than he’d ever thought he could fall. Lance was adorable, and hot, if he was being honest.  

 

Lance slipped on some clothes, a pair of complementing skinny jeans and a t-shirt that (ironically) had the words ‘Mermaid Gang’ on it in bold, swoopy letters. Yes, Pidge and Hunk both had matching shirts. He toweled off his hair quickly then checked himself in the mirror, straightening his clothes and controlling his hair. Yeah, he looked good. He then returned to Shiro who was idly scrolling through instagram on his phone.

 

“Hey,” Lance said as he slid the glass door closed, getting Shiro’s attention.

“Hey,” Shiro said right back, smiling. Lance nearly tripped as he saw that smile, his heart turning to mush almost instantly. He quickly sat down on the pool chair next to Shiro. How did he do that to him? He’d only known him for a week. Granted, they had texted a fair amount during that time.

“So, you like swimming?”

 

Lance blushed at the inquiry. 'I like swimming a lot more than you know, Shiro.' He thought and just nodded.

“Yeah, I love it. I especially love the beach, though. I wish I could go more often.” He replied.

“Oh? Why do you like the beach?” Shiro asked. He himself didn’t care for the beach that much, but if he could have a fun beach date with Lance then he’d gladly go.

“Well, my dad.. And my mom used to take me there all the time. We’d go at least once a week, if not more.” He answered, “Sometimes my mom wouldn’t be able to make it, but I’d still have fun with my dad.” Lance felt comfortable around Shiro. He didn’t mind sharing some of his past with him.

 

Shiro nodded in understanding, but now the man was even more curious.

“Might I ask, are your mom and dad still around?” He asked, trying to be careful. Lance nodded, filling Shiro with relief.

“Yeah, well, I mean, my dad is around but my mom is... not.” Lance was proud of himself for remembering the cover up he came up with, even if it was a little dark.

“What about your dad, do you think I’ll be able to meet him?” Shiro asked. Lance got butterflies in his stomach as he realized Shiro wanted to meet his family.

“O-oh, yeah, I think he’d love to meet you. He lives by the beach and works as a car mechanic and a surfboard crafter.” Lance said, purposely adding a slight dramatic flair to his dad’s title. Shiro chuckled at this, sending another swarm of butterflies through Lance. Both of their smiles widened.

 

“Well, I’d love to meet him sometime.” Shiro added, looking into Lance’s sparkling, blue eyes. Man, Lance was beautiful. And those eyes were other worldly. They felt themselves getting closer as they kept chatting with each other. A couple hours passed, along with a few rounds of silly card games and reading funny tumblr posts to each other, they went inside and sat on the couch, putting on a movie. Not a scary one this time. Lance had had a couple nightmares after the theater, and was not about to watch something to make him piss his pants. They settled on watching ‘Wedding Singer’ and Lance popped some popcorn.

 

Pidge and Hunk tiptoed in around 10 pm, seeing Shiro and Lance on the couch, tangled up in each other. Shiro’s arms were wrapped tightly around Lance and vice versa. Lance’s legs were also straddling him as his head rested on the larger man’s pecs, Shiro’s hand threaded through Lance’s soft hair. They were both fast asleep, so Lance’s roommates let them be. Besides, they looked so comfy that even if they had been awake they still probably wouldn’t have disturbed them. Hunk quietly turned off the TV and grabbed the empty bowl of popcorn that lay on the floor, bringing it to the kitchen. Pidge snapped another picture, making sure the ringer was off this time, then she retreated to her room. Shiro and Lance cuddled in peace, not even the ringing of Shiro’s phone waking them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope your teeth didn't rot and fall out from all this fluff! And I hope you enjoyed.  
> Go ahead and leave a comment, I do read them and reply to them. Thank you!


	3. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk makes great food, Shiro is hot and so is Lance, but there's also something or someone sketchy...

Shiro’s eyes opened as he smelled something delicious. Like, it smelled _amazing_. Bacon, presumably, and eggs. Probably pancakes too. But what really woke him up was the realization that Keith was a terrible cook. He almost made a move to get up but then felt a heavy weight on his chest. He looked down, seeing his arms wrapped around a sleeping Lance. His cheeks tinted pink at the sight. Did they sleep like this all night? And Lance looked so cute, his hair messy from Shiro’s fingers threading through it, his face resting on Shiro’s pecs as he slept peacefully. Had the smell of food not been making his stomach growl he would have most likely stayed still for another hour. But it just smelled too good.

 

He gently began combing through the smaller boy’s soft hair again, shifting slightly to sit up a little more and coaxing Lance quietly to wake up.

“Laaaance…” He cooed quietly, “wake up… there’s food.” Eventually Lance’s eyes began fluttering open and Shiro thought he was going to have a heart attack. His cheeks heated up as he realized his face was nuzzled on Shiro’s chest again, and his bright blue eyes shifted up to the man’s gray ones. A little smile graced his lips and the two smiled at each other.

“Mornin’...” Lance mumbled sleepily, sitting up slowly, but not before Shiro could place a little kiss on his cheek and give him a wink. Lance’s smile widened as Shiro also sat up.

 

They looked over the back of the couch to the entrance to the kitchen, watching Hunk walk around holding pans and spoons whilst wearing a flour covered apron. Shiro now remembered seeing Hunk walk around holding giant trays full of cups or other various things into a kitchen of a local restaurant. He was always wearing the chef’s uniform, and by the smell of the house this morning Shiro could see why.

 

Soon a groggy Pidge hopped down the stairs in an oversized shirt and boxers. She glanced at Shiro and Lance on the couch, smirking.

“Did you guys have fun last night?” She chuckled, going into the kitchen and snitching some food.

“Hey!” Hunk exclaimed, rushing back into the kitchen.

 

Shiro helped Lance up and walked with him to the kitchen, slyly slipping his hand into the younger man’s. He just couldn't help himself, he really liked Lance, and the messy haired boy didn't object.

 

****

It had been almost a month now since Shiro and Lance met each other, and neither of them had really, formally asked the other out. Pidge and Hunk (mostly Pidge) tormented Lance, teasing him about Shiro and encouraging him to ask the man out. So here Lance was, clutching his phone and staring at Shiro’s contact name that was now ‘The Other Hunk’. With the small gremlin that was Pidge breathing down his back, and Hunk gently patting Lance’s shoulder comfortingly, he pressed the contact name and held the phone up to the side of his face.

 

Soon, he hear the deep, smooth and lovely voice of Shiro on the other end.

“Hello?”

“H-hey, Shiro, it’s Lance.”

“Oh, hi, Lance! I was just about to call you. What’s up?”

“U-um, well, I-I, uh,” Lance’s face flushed as he stuttered, and Pidge snickered. He shoved the gremlin off of his back and continued, “I was, um, wondering if you maybe, u-uh, wanted to go to the L-Lion’s Den tonight? With me? A-as a date?” It felt like the whole world was holding it’s breath as Lance waited for an answer, his heart rate picking up drastically as he heard no noise from the other line for a good few seconds.

“I’d love to, Lance.” Shiro finally responded, and Lance let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. So did Pidge and Hunk. The cuban kid was relieved that he could practically hear the smile in Shiro’s voice, and it sounded like a big smile.

“O-ok! Cool! U-um, pick you up at 6?” Lance asked, grinning widely.

“Yeah. That sounds great, see you then.” Shiro said. Lance was about to hang up, when he remembered the thing Shiro had said earlier.

“Oh, wait! You said you were about to call me earlier? Did you need to tell me something?” Shiro couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing you asked me. See you later tonight, Lance.” Shiro continued, and after Lance said goodbye as well, they hung up.

 

The three roommates squealed and jumped around happily, Hunk soon going to make some celebratory hot cocoa. Lance’s friend’s might’ve helped him get ready for the date more, but if he was being frank, he had the best sense of style out of the three. Lance had some hot cocoa (it was stupidly delicious) and then got to work. He eventually picked out a white and gray striped shirt with short sleeves that was really soft, and a pair of tight, black booty jorts.

Meanwhile, Shiro was flipping out over what he was going to wear. He knew it was important, but he thought he had _no_ sense of style. Also Keith definitely wasn’t any better with fasion, so he couldn’t even ask him for help. After some extensive googling and researching, the man determined an outfit that was probably ok.

 

****

 

Hunk was happily working his shift at the Lion’s Den, a kind of nice but not too expensive restaurant in town. Lance stood outside the restaurant, bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. He’d gone on plenty of dates before, yeah, but he’d never liked someone _this much_ , and it made him really anxious. Soon he saw a small, black compact car pull into a nearby parking spot, and Shiro stepped out of the driver’s side. Lance thought he might have a conniption, because Shiro had never looked so fine.

 

He was wearing black jeans that greatly complemented his derriere, and a black and blue flannel that looked too tight for him. But Lance thanked the gods of clothing and sizes that it was too small, because _damn those pecs_ . Shiro approached Lance, almost having a conniption of his own. Lance was too good for him, because _in the name of all things holy that ass was his savior_.

 

“And I thought I looked good,” Lance said, almost breathlessly, as he looked over Shiro. Light blushes were on both of the men’s faces.

“Hey, you look amazing.” Shiro said, just as breathless. They lost track of how long they stared at each other, but soon when Lance realized his eyes had been glued to Shiro’s chest, he embarrassedly snapped out of his trance and beckoned Shiro inside. Hunk had reserved a table for them already, and so they didn’t have to wait at all to be seated. Amazing rolls were served as appetisers, and Lance munched away.

 

They got to talking after they ordered, and Lance learned a couple things. First, Shiro had a prosthetic! It had been so realistic that Lance hadn’t even noticed. It was mechanical and super high tech, and Shiro couldn’t tell his date where he’d got it from. It was a little sketchy, but still cool. He also learned that Shiro and Keith weren’t brothers from birth, but they’d gone from foster home to foster home together.

 

Lance revealed that he had a dad, but no mom, continuing on with the story that she was dead. That was a lie, but his mom was never around anyways. He made up that she had died in a car crash. He told Shiro that his passion was swimming, but didn’t go into detail. He was on the swim team, so it wasn’t suspicious in the slightest.

 

Once their food came they ate, praising Hunk’s cooking and telling stories. They ordered desert, unable to resist the thought of Hunk’s brownies. As they waited, Shiro noticed something. It wasn’t Lance, but he had a hunch it was about Lance. There was some guy, staring directly at Shiro’s date. At first the man thought he had been staring at him, but soon it was clear where his gaze was. The guy had long, platinum blonde hair pulling up in a fancy ponytail. In fact, the guy looked completely fancy. Shiro had to reluctantly admit, he was pretty attractive. A strong but thin jaw, prominent cheekbones and shining, purple eyes. He was tan and wore very nice clothing.

 

But soon Lance noticed Shiro scrutinizing this man. He made to turn and look at what Shiro was looking at, but his date quickly stopped him.

“What??” Lance questioned.

“Don’t look now, but there’s some guy staring at you.” Shiro said quietly, unable to keep the slight jealousy from seeping from his voice. Lance noticeably stiffened, forcing himself not to turn around and look.

“I-is… does it look like a creepy guy?” Lance asked nervously.

“He looked fancy. He looks young, too. Not like a middle aged man.” Shiro responded. Lance relaxed a tad, but still was forcing himself to not look. After a moment Shiro’s gaze didn’t waver.

“Is… Is he still staring at me?” Lance whispered. Shiro just nodded.

“Maybe we should take dessert to go, yeah?” He proposed, tearing his gaze away from the man and looking at Lance, who nodded as well.

 

When their waitress came by they stopped her and asked if it could be made to go and she said it was fine. Their food soon came and they paid, well Shiro paid. Lance offered but Shiro was very persuasive. Then they were out of there as fast as they could. Lance stole a glance at the man Shiro said had been staring at him, and was surprised. Shiro was telling the truth, it was some young guy. But it was still creepy, don’t get him wrong.

 

Lance couldn’t help but worry… What if this dude somehow knew about his secret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to update!! School and life got really hectic and I could barely even find the time to write, but here it is finally! I think I'll only make this 1 or 2 more chapters long. I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Merman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is pretty  
> He is cute  
> He will kick you  
> In the throat

Lance sighed, sinking into the water, relishing the feeling of him changing forms. It had been too long again, his carefully cared for skin had begun to become ashy and dry. His legs merged together, tingling and slightly stinging as scales surfaced. Three slits opened in his neck on each side, twitching on his heavily blue tinted skin. His ears stretched to fins, and his nails elongated and curved, turning black. His pupils blew large, very large, taking up almost all of his eyes. His teeth sharpened and spikey fins surfaced on the sides of his arms, just above his elbows, and tail. Lance looked at himself through the water, appreciating the nice, smooth transition of tail to torso, his belly a lighter blue than the rest of his skin. He ran a hand through his dark blue, almost black now, hair and sunk all the way under the water, beginning to swim around in the pool. 

 

He glided naturally, loving the feeling of the water on his increasingly sensitive skin. He loved the way his scales shone an iridescent blue in the sun, projecting little spots of light on the shadier parts of the pool. His only complaint was that he wished the pool was bigger. He longed to visit the sea again and swim with his mother. Ah, swimming with his mother, yes. She was so beautiful and graceful, she taught him everything he knew. Tips on how to avoid humans, how to effectively glide and how to swim extremely fast. He recalled what she looked like. Tail and fins and scales like his, but a deep indigo instead of a light, royal blue. She had long, flowing hair that was black, glistening with a few streaks of shiny silver. 

 

Lance slid through the water with amazing ease, letting his stomach face up, the sun gently warming it. Lance looked down at his tail, the blue/purple/green shifting iridescent shining back at him. He loved the way he looked in this form, he thought he was so beautiful. It was sad that he could show no one, not even Shiro, who he had grown very close with. They had gone on more dates, and were practically boyfriends, but neither of them had exactly said it outloud. They were very comfortable with each other, and they loved each other. Lance got giddy just thinking about Shiro, spinning around in the water and letting out a delighted trill of his voice. 

 

Lance inwardly sighed, letting himself float to the half smooth, half rough bottom of the pool. He landed gently on his back, letting his tail wave around in front of him. After a bit, he slowly and reluctantly pushed himself to the surface. He had spent long enough in the pool, and he was going to hang out with Shiro later today-

 

Lance froze after rising from the surface, his eyes wide with terror. Because, standing in front of him at the edge of the pool, was Shiro. The man’s eyes were blown wide, wider than Lance’s, and his mouth hung agape. A bag he had been holding dropped from his fingers, thunking on the tile ground. Lance let out a screech of horror, startling Shiro out of his trance. He sped over to the steps of the pool, shifting back as fast as he could and scrambling out of the pool. He snatched the towel he had placed on a pool chair, wrapping it around his bare waist quickly. 

 

“Lance..” Shiro muttered, still pretty dazed. The boy spun around back towards Shiro, shaking with fear and anxiety. He looked at the clock on the wall.

“Y-you… you weren’t supposed to come for another two hours!” Lance managed, voice shaky and on the verge of tears. Oh, what had he done?! He shouldn’t’ve waited so long to get out! He knew Shiro liked to surprise him! 

“I-I… I’m sorry I,” Shiro started, looking at Lance with eyes like saucers, “I brought your favorite kind of chips..” He continued, but the man knew that wasn’t relevant right now. Lance was a… what actually was he?!

“Lance.. What… what are you?” Shiro asked, purely out of curiosity. He didn’t mean anything bad by it, but it hit Lance like a truck. The boy couldn’t stop the tears so he covered his face, sitting on the chair and curling up. Sobs wracked his body violently, his worst fear becoming a reality. He was a freak! A monster! Shiro was probably horrified, terrified! Lance’s life was over. Oh, what would he tell his dad? And his mother! What would become of her? Surely if Shiro turned him in he’d get experimented on and they’d figure out he must’ve had a mother, and so they’d go find her and treat her like a science experiment and-

 

“Lance, Lance.. hey, hey, hey.. It’s ok, it’s gonna be ok..” Shiro said comfortingly and softly as he quickly sat down next to the wet, sobbing boy. He wrapped his arms around him lovingly, frowning as he felt Lance’s shaking. 

“I-I’m a fre-eak,” Lance hiccupped between sobs, the boy’s mind racing, “p-please don-don’t turn me i-in..” He looked up at Shiro, and the man felt his heart break at his expression. 

“Hey, don’t worry, I won’t turn you into anyone. I wouldn’t do that to you… You’re not a freak, you’re amazing and you’re beautiful and I love you.” Shiro confessed truthfully, meaning every word. He hadn’t exactly planned to break out the ‘L’ word today, but this felt like the perfect moment. 

 

Lance stopped crying, his mouth agape as he stared up at Shiro in awe, little tears still glistening in his eyes.

“Y-you… you love me?” Lance questioned quietly. Shiro nodded. Gladness washed over Lance, and he started crying again, this time in happiness and relief. Shiro was worried at first but then Lance spoke.

“I-I… I love you too!” The boy got out between sobs. Lance shoved his face into Shiro’s chest, wrapping his arms around the man tightly. Shiro hugged him back lovingly, gently rubbing a hand up and down Lance’s back comfortingly. After a moment, Shiro pulled back from the hug slightly, gently putting a hand on Lance’s cheek and wiping his tears. Lance smiled a little, and Shiro couldn’t help himself anymore. He leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to Lance’s. 

 

The boy’s eyes widened, but he kissed back wrapping his arms around Shiro’s neck. After a few moments they pulled back.

“That was.. My first..” Lance said in awe. Shiro beamed, ecstatic that he had stolen Lance’s first kiss. 

“Was it okay?” Shiro asked, and Lance nodded enthusiastically, “come on, let’s go inside, love.” The man continued, and Lance thought he might die at how Shiro called him ‘love’. He nodded and stood up with Shiro, going inside the house. 

 

He went to his room and changed into some clothes, putting on some loose jeans and a faded, gray Power Rangers t-shirt. He went back to the living room, where Shiro was snacking on the chips, and sat down. After a moment of silence, Shiro spoke.

“So, Lance… I gotta ask… How did… when… what, uh…” Shiro realized he didn’t know quite was asking, but Lance did. 

“How come I’m a mermaid?” He said, chuckling slightly. Shiro smiled a little.

“Yeah…” 

“Well, my dad was a sailor, and once he found a mermaid and fell in love. So… They ended up having me. My mom isn’t actually dead, I just told you that cause I didn’t really want to tell you that she was a mermaid, and couldn’t visit because she didn’t have legs.” Lance chuckled slightly, “Yeah. It’s like something out of a fairytale, except real and with a lot more dangers.” Shiro nodded in understanding. 

“Do Pidge and Hunk know?” Shiro asked, and Lance shook his head.

“You’re the only one who knows, aside from my dad.” 

 

Lance talked to Shiro about his needs, like how he has to go in the water a lot, and the foods he can and can’t have. He made sure Shiro knew everything he needed to know about him.

“So… Are you okay with having a merman for a boyfriend?” He questioned, and Shiro grinned a little.

“As long as it’s you,” He responded, giving Lance a gentle peck on the lips. Lance blushed and beamed.

“Deal.” 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Lance and Shiro had decided to go to the Aquarium in celebration of Shiro finding out his true identity, or at least that’s what they said. Really, they just wanted to have a cute, thematic date. They saw all the different animals, but couldn’t bring themselves to leave the otter exhibit. They were having cuddle parties and it was too cute! They ended up paying extra and going in and feeding the otters. Shiro was being overwhelmed with cuteness, because when Lance fed the cute little otters he made the cutest noises and looked so excited, which was really cute. If they kept this up Shiro might have a heart attack.

 

They took lots of pictures, and while Lance and his boyfriend were reviewing them, Shiro saw something. Or, rather, someone. He caught the creepy guy from the restaurant staring at Lance! He could recognize that long, bleached blonde hair anywhere. Especially since this wasn’t the second time Shiro had seen him creeping on their date. It had happened at least four times before. The man pushed his sunglasses up onto his head, making eye contact with Shiro. Was this a challenge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! Sorry for making you all wait so long, and thanks for reading! I think there will only be one more chapter of this, so I'll try to make it good! Also, I hope you enjoyed the fluff while it lasted. ;^)


	5. Captive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is a smart boy, Shiro is a worried boy.

“Shiro? What’s going on?” Lance asked worriedly, looking around to see what Shiro was looking at. He tensed when he saw the man, eye contact held strong with Shiro. 

“Shiro, come on, let’s go.. Let’s get some souvenirs then let’s get out of here…” He said quietly, tugging on Shiro’s sleeve. Shiro broke the eye contact and looked at Lance, nodding a bit then protectively putting his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. They walked briskly out of the exhibit, going to the souvenir shop. Shiro bought Lance a shark plushie, and Lance bought shiro an otter jacket. Shiro spotted bleached blondie sitting in the cafe by the souvenir shop, and they booked it out of the building, heading straight for their car.

 

“Man, who is that guy?!” Lance questioned, hugging his fluffy shark. 

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that I’m not letting him get anywhere near you.” Shiro said seriously, though he made himself focus on the road. Lance smiled a little against his plushie at Shiro’s protectiveness. Shiro stole a glance at Lance as they rolled to a stop at a stoplight. There were no cars in sight, there wasn’t much traffic at all. Shiro smiled at Lance’s smile, and opened his mouth to say something. He didn’t get to, as a shiny, purple convertible zoomed from an alleyway and rammed into the side of their car.

 

Their car bent, flipping over completely. Glass was everywhere, Shiro’s side had been hit and so he was out cold. Lance could feel glass in his arms and hands, and his head hurt like hell. He called Shiro’s name, struggling to get his seatbelt off. He finally got it off and leaned over to Shiro, cupping his face in his hands and calling his name more. An ambulance! They needed an ambulance! Where was his damn phone?! 

 

Blood rushed to his head as Lance frantically started looking for his phone, when his door opened and a buff woman stared him down. 

“Wh-who-” Lance started, but the woman reached in and grabbed him, tugging him out of he car. 

“H-hey, what the hell!” Lance exclaimed, but the woman just brisky put a bag over his head and tied his hands with  a zip-tie. Lance let out many muffled protests as the woman tried to guide him away. He struggled too much, so she ended up just carrying him over her shoulder. He kicked his legs, pounding his bound fists against her back, but she didn’t let up. HE quickly did what he knew might help him get found, and reached up to the woman’s head, tearing out some of her hair. The woman growled, not able to see Lance drop the hair on the ground,even as she reached back and smacked him in the head.

 

Tears pricked his eyes as he was tossed in what he was sure was a white van. The ground was hard and cold through his jeans. He scooted into a corner, wanting to be as far away from whoever was there as he could be. He heard doors slam and an engine roar to life. He let out a sob, curling into himself. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. 

 

Suddenly the bad was ripped off his head, leaving his hair disheveled. He squinted his eyes, blinking up at his captor. Bleached blondie stood smirking above him. 

“Who the hell are you?! Why the hell am I here?? What do you want!” Lance exclaimed frantically and angrily. The man crouched down in front of Lance, gripping his chin and tilting his head up.

“I think you know why, my little fish.” The man said, sharp canines visible as he grinned. Lance’s eyes widened and he started trembling, much to his chagrin. The man chuckled.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you… much…” He said, standing up straight again, “my name is Lotor. Don’t forget it.”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Shiro’s eyes blinked opened to the sound of beeping, an ache in his back and the color white. He squinted at the bright lights and tried to bring a hand up to rub his eyes, but when he looked there were things connected to it. Tubes of sorts. He looked over at his prosthetic arm and saw it was horribly damaged, dents and scratches galore. He tried to move it and found the joints in the elbow were completely bent. He sighed, and the door to the hospital room opened. 

 

“Ah, Mister Shirogane, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” A man with a thick New Zealand accent and bushy red hair. The styled mustache was also very prominent. 

“Just peachy… What happened?” Shiro responded, his mind feeling fuzzy.

“I’m afraid you were in a car accident. Your prosthetic suffered much damage and you are suffering from head-”

“Wait, where’s Lance?” Shiro quickly questioned. He just remembered everything, including Lance being in the car with him.

“Excuse me?” The doctor questioned, tilting his head and furrowing his brows. He looked very confused.

“Lance, Lance Mcclain! He was in the car with me. Is he okay?” Shiro asked, trying to remain calm. 

“Um, I’m sorry, there was no one else in the car. We only found you.” The doctor said. Shiro’s heartbeat sped up considerably, and the doctor noticed.

“What?! He- he was in the car with me, I swear!” Shiro exclaimed, sitting up. The doctor quickly went and pushed him back down.

“Please, sir, you need to calm down, okay? It’s going to be alright. I’ll contact the police and see if they found anyone else. It’s going to be alright, Mister Shirogane.” The doctor, Doctor Smythe once Shiro saw the nametag, said comfortingly. 

 

Shiro laid back down, trying to calm himself. He quickly came to a decision after a moment of silence. He doubted anyone here would take him seriously that there had been someone in the car with him, so he’d need to call some people who’d believe him.

“Can I have a phone call?”

 

~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Hunk had driven like an expert to the hospital, speedy fast but still somehow abiding by most of the laws. He went inside the hospital to see Shiro, and Pidge drove back to the crash site to investigate. As expected, there was lots of police. She managed to convince them of her friendship with Shiro, and hastily explained that Shiro wasn’t the only one who had been in the car. Both she and Hunk were certain that Lance existed and he was going on a date with Shiro. While the police were busy discussing this new information, Pidge took the opportunity to poke around. Immediately she found signs of struggle in the passenger’s seat. She looked around the car, and found a tiny pile of short, whispy strands of hair. Even with just a glance, she could tell they weren’t Lance’s. For one, they were purple.

 

She told the recently arrived detective, Detective Thace, about the hair and the struggle then she let them do their job. She called Hunk on the way to the hospital, letting them know of their findings, and she didn’t even have to see Shiro to know he was a wreck in more ways than one.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lance was uncomfortable, to say the least. He’d suffered through blondie talking at him throughout the cold, bumpy ride and now he was sitting in a kiddie pool sized tank of water, forcing himself not to shift. The worst part was, his captors knew how hard this was for him. This was their way of torturing him into submission. He couldn’t shift, because then he was sure they’d do experiments on him, and find his mother. Maybe even put him in a freak show. But all he wanted was to get back to Shiro.

 

Sitting in front of him with a clipboard and a white labcoat was another woman with long, pink hair in a ponytail. She had a never ending, cheery smile, but she didn’t say anything. She just watched. And Lance just glared. But soon the door opened, a woman with black hair and black lipstick. 

“Lotor needs you to help prep. It’s a lot more difficult than we thought it’d be.” She said, her voice almost monotonous. The pink haired woman sighed, her smile never leaving. 

“Alright,” She said, setting her clipboard down and getting up, turning back towards Lance for a moment, “go ahead and relax, make yourself comfortable…” She grinned and left the room with the other woman. 

 

A moment or two later, Lance got to work. He got onto his knees in the pool, lifting his bound hands to his face, biting the long end of the zip tie and pulling, tightening it as much as he could. He maneuvered the zip tie till it was between his wrists, then he lifted his hands above his head and brought them fast and hard back down against his stomach. The zip tie didn’t budge, so he did it a couple more times, making sure it was tight, and by the third time the zip tie broke. He got out of the pool carefully and quietly, not wanting to make a ruckus and get caught. 

He was sopping wet and knew he would leave a trail, which would not be good. He looked around the large, echoey room he was in then found a supply closet with lab gear in it. He chucked his wet clothes and slipped on the white pants and coat. The pants were plastic and uncomfortable, but he could live with it. He then continued scouting out the room, looking for exits aside from the main one that led to the rest of the building. He found a couple side doors but they were locked, and the windows were too small and too high to get to. It looked like he only had one way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I'll be writing one more chapter to this! I hope you guys have enjoyed it, it's been pretty fun to write! I'm a sucker for Shance, after all.


	6. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thace is a good cop, and Lotor and his ladies are evil.

Shiro was running when he knew he really shouldn’t be. He was injured and his head was pounding, but he couldn’t stand just sitting there when he knew Lance could be being tortured or something. He had ditched the hospital gown and stolen some doctor’s clothes, managed to get his wallet and phone (which miraculously wasn’t too damaged) from the lady at the front desk, taken a bus and gone home. He changed into some actual clothes, grabbed a pocket knife and set out. He took another bus to the area where he and Lance crashed. That’s where he’d start. 

 

The police had already left the scene so he had it all to himself. He checked the passenger’s seat and didn’t find anything. Maybe that meant Lance still had his phone with him! Shiro quickly took out his own phone, opening a lovely app called ‘Find my Friends,’ and he tapped Lance’s name. After a few minutes of loading, a little blue dot appeared in the area that Shiro knew was the abandoned part of town. He scowled, knowing exactly who was there. 

 

Galra Labs. That’s who was there. The sickos that took Shiro’s arm to test their new prosthetics and technology. They still tried to contact him every now and them to see how their tech was doing, but Shiro ignored them. The man’s stomach did flips at the thought of them doing the same thing to Lance… Or maybe.. They had figured out what he was! 

  
  


~~~~~~~

 

Lance snuck through the hallways as quietly as he could, cursing the loud ruffly noises that the plastic pants made. This place looked abandoned, and yet it was like a maze! So many hallways and twists and turns. Suddenly Lance heard steps coming from behind him and he darted around a corner, flattening himself against the wall. The steps paused for a second, then continued. Lance carefully peeked around the corner, seeing it was a tall man in a lab coat. With a closer look Lance noticed two specific things, one, the man wore a name tag saying ‘Dr. Thace,’ two, he was holding Lance’s phone. As soon as the man passed the corner Lance was hiding by, the boy pounced, aiming for his phone. Dr. Thace let out a surprised cry as Lance wrestled for his phone.

 

“Hey, hey, what- you! Lance, stop, just a moment, hold on-” The man growled, grabbing Lance’s wrists and holding him steady, “how did you get out??” Lance struggled in Dr. Thace’s grip, the man was too strong though. 

“Like I’d ever tell you,” Lance said through gritted teeth, “and how do you know my name?” Thace sighed, moving Lance’s wrists into one of his hands so he could stick Lance’s phone in one of the boy’s back pockets. 

“You’re widely known around here. It’s not everyday we encounter a merperson.” He said, and Lance stiffened. 

“Let me go..” Lance said, continuing to struggle.

“In due time.. Come with me, act like you’re still being brought against your will.” Dr. Thace continued, pulling out another zip tie from his coat pocket and putting it around Lance’s wrists, though he barely tightened it. Lance could slip out easily if he wanted to. 

The boy raised an eyebrow as he was pulled along behind Thace, the man gripping one of Lance’s hands. Soon another man in a lab coat passed by, but he was tall and thin unlike Thace, who was wide and buff. Lance turned his face away from him, not needing to pretend to be angry, because he was very. Who did these people think they were, kidnapping him and trying to force him to show them his biggest secret! 

 

Eventually they got to a thick, metal door that was painted white. It had a silver plaque with Dr. Thace’s name on it. The man pulled a keycard on a lanyard out from his shirt, holding it up to a pad above the door handle. After a moment it beeped and a little green light flashed, so Thace turned the handle and opened the door. He lead Lance inside and let the heavy door shut behind him.

“You can take off the ziptie now.” Thace said, shedding his lab coat and draping it over a chair. Lance did as the man suggested, slipping the plastic off his wrists and tossing it onto a table. 

“Okay, what the hell is going on??” He demanded to know. Thace sighed. 

“This is a laboratory called Galra Labs. It’s owner is a horrible, horrible man nick-named Zarkon. I’m not even sure of what his real name is. He has a son, nicknamed Prince Lotor. I believe his real name is Logan, Logan Galra. Though, if he knew I knew his real name he’d probably kill me, so just pretend you don’t know. You see..” Thace lowered his voice, looking at the slowly changing expressions on Lance’s face, “I’m not really an employee here. I’m a spy, a part of a group trying to take this horrible laboratory down.. I believe you might know one of their victims, a man named Takashi Shirogane?” 

 

Lance nearly did a double take. Wait a second, Shiro?

“Wait, Shiro..? He was a victim of this place?” Lance questioned, startled and suddenly feeling a little shaky. Thace nodded, looking down at the ground before back up at the boy. 

“Yes.. Have you ever wondered why he needed a prosthetic?” Lance’s eyes widened, “It was because the horrible ‘scientists’ here decided they wanted to test their high-tech prosthetics on someone. They took his arm, against his will, and replaced it with a fake, metal arm with no feeling.” Thace’s eyes were dark.

“It was horrible.” 

 

Lance’s felt a painful tightness in the back of his throat, wanting to cry just hearing that. 

“But, nevermind that.. I’m telling you right now, the Galra know what you are they’re very curious.” Thace said, handing Lance his phone. 

“How did they find out?” He questioned. 

“They’ve been stalking you at your home for the past couple weeks, and they’ve seen you in your pool.” Thace answered. Lance felt a shiver go up his spine.. That meant they’d seen him naked at least once. Urgh, gross. It was also a bit horrifying to hear how easily they’d found out his deepest secret. 

“Now, we need to get you out of here-” Thace was interrupted by alarms blaring and red lights flashing, and the man cursed, “they’ve realized you’re gone. We need to go now.” 

 

The tall man stood up, slamming his hand onto a panel and the door slid open. He grabbed onto Lance’s wrist, pulling him out of the room with him. They began running down the hall, adrenaline beginning to pump through their veins. Thace guided him through the twists and turns, avoiding guards and bolting around corners. Lance though he was for sure going to pass out until he heard a familiar voice.

“Lance!” 

The boy spun around, despite Thace’s tugging on his arm to encourage him to keep running. Because there, in the hallway, looking worried yet relieved at the same time, was Shiro. He want and caught up with Lance and Thace, and the three quickly disappeared into a room just before some guards ran by. They were all panting, standing in a cold storage room. 

“Shiro, what are you doing here?” Lance whispered. Shiro gently put a hand on his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I came here to find you.” He said, and Lance though he would die with all the emotions that surged through him at the moment. He couldn’t help but lean forward and pour all that emotion into Shiro, connecting their lips with all the love he could muster. 

 

“This is really sweet, but I’m afraid there’s an issue.” Thace interrupted, the couple quickly parting in embarrassment, “so, your boyfriend here must have been the one to set off the alarms, so they might not have known you were gone, but that doesn’t matter because certainly they do now.” Thace walked over to the door, pressing his ear to the cold metal. Everything was silent for a moment. 

“Okay,” the man whispered, “we’re going to have to make a break for it. I have an escape car parked behind the building. Follow me and we’ll get out of here.” The three boys nodded at each other before Thace flung the door open and they all sprinted. They followed Thace through the hallways, hearing guards beginning to shout after them. Lance was ever grateful for his long legs. 

 

They soon saw a small, green exit sign glowing above a glass door. They wasted no time in opening the door, the piece of furniture nearly breaking off the hinges at how hard Thace pushed it open. They were now running across dirty gravel, a sleek looking sports car peeking out from behind some dumpsters. They were so close, if they could just get to the car they’d be home free. 

 

Suddenly Lance’s legs wouldn’t move, something strong wrapping around them quickly and out of nowhere. He yelped as he tumbled onto the dirt, his hands shooting out in front of him to lessen the impact. He could feel small rocks already lodged in his skin and scrapes that formed. Shiro stopped in his tracks, calling out Lance’s name, but before he could even move Thace was running back, skidding to a stop in front of Lance. 

“Leave this boy alone, I won’t let you perform your sickening ‘tests’ on him!” Thace shouted as figures came out from around the building and through the exit. There were 6 in all. There was Lotor, the woman with pink hair, the woman with black hair, a buff woman with purple hair and a bald woman wearing dark glasses, a cat prowling around her feet. Lance was hurriedly trying to free himself from a rope and weights that had wrapped around his legs. 

“Your traitor, I should have known!” The woman with black hair and lipstick shouted. Lotor stalked forward, and it was revealed he had a gun. He rose it in the air, the barrel pointed at Thace’s chest. 

“No, no, no…” Lance breathed, his voice panicked as he tried to untangle himself, “no, nononono..!” 

“I won’t let you hurt him,” Thace spread his arms out, shielding Lance.

“No, Thace!” Shiro shouted, seeing the glint in Lotor’s eyes.

“Your loss.” Lotor said, his finger mercilessly pulling the trigger. 

  
  


There was a bang.

  
  


And a thud. 

  
  


And blood.

  
  


Lance felt tears brim his eyes as he finally freed himself.

“NO!” He shrieked. Shiro ran forward, kneeling down by Lance and the bleeding Thace. The man sputtered, blood bubbling out of his mouth and trickling down his chin. Lance’s tears flowed freely as he looked at the now lifeless eyes of the man who’d given up his life for him. Standing, shakily, Lance looked at Shiro. He was in shock, unmoving as he stared at Thace. Lance picked up the weighted ropes, looking up at Lotor and his crew. 

“This could have been avoided,” Lotor said, “if you had just come with us willingly.” Lance felt like his whole body twitched in anger.

“No.. This could have been avoided IF YOU HADN’T SHOT HIM!!” Lance screamed, unable to contain the tears any longer. Lotor’s gaze darkened, and he took a few steps towards Lance. The boy, though, was already a few steps ahead of him, running forward before Lotor realized. The man had never thought this boy would have the guts to confront him- he was caught off guard. Lance ran up to him, raising the weights above his head and bringing them down quickly on Lotor’s.

 

The man cried out, stumbling over after the weights collided with the side of his head. The black-haired woman sped over, wrapping her arms around Lance from behind to detain him. Lance thrashed, kicking as much as he could. Lotor stood up with the help of the pink-haired woman, blood trickling and smeared over his face and staining his hair red. He glared at Lance.

“You’re going to regret that, boy.” 

 

Shiro was alert now, snapping out of his shock of Thace’s death. He saw Lotor’s gun lay on the ground, unattended. The bald woman and the buff woman were running towards it already! Shiro got up quickly, running close to the ground and lunging for the gun. He grabbed it, just barely reaching it first. He rolled to his feet, pointing the gun in front of him, preventing the women from attacking him. The man quickly turned, holding the gun against Lotor’s head, just as the white-haired man was reaching for Lance’s neck. Everyone froze, even Lance.

“Let. Him. Go.” Shiro articulated, panting. He glanced at the woman holding Lance. “Let Lance go unless you want a bullet in Lotor’s brain.” His pupils were shrunk, adrenaline rushing through his veins along with his fast-pumping blood, his (pretty large) muscles flexed. Everyone could tell that if Lance got hurt, Lotor would get hurt much worse. The black-haired woman let out a breath before releasing her grip on Lance. 

 

“Get to the car.” Shiro said to Lance. The boy hesitated. “Now!” Shiro insisted. Lance turned, running as fast as his long legs could carry him to the get away car. He slid into the passenger’s seat, looking around the car. He hoped to find a phone or something to call the police. He opened the glovebox and found Thace’s phone, getting it out with no hesitation and calling the police. He could see Shiro with the gun, running to the car. The women protecting Lotor were scattering. They must have something up their sleeves, and Shiro knew it. He practically lept into the drivers seat, turning the key that was already left in the ignition. 

 

Lance was hurriedly, and through tears, telling the operator what happened. There was a risk that the police might find out what he was, but that was a risk he’d have to take. There was a dead body that someone had to find and bring back to the right family. He was sure that this Laboratory would do something with (or to) the body to try and cover it up, and Lance couldn’t live with that. Thace was a good man who had sacrificed himself for Lance, and he deserved proper services from his family and friends. 

 

They sped down the empty street in the nice car, checking out the windows for anything suspicious on the road. Before they knew what was happening, there were rapid bangs and thuds against the car, glass breaking and metal denting. Lance screamed as they swerved, glass cutting up shiro’ human arm. Not to mention, he could only use one arm to drive as his prosthetic was badly damaged and barely usable. Shiro could tell those bastards had a damn machine gun, rapid firing at them. He quickly skidded around a corner, making it out of their range before a tire on the car suddenly burst.

 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck..” Lance was repeating like a mantra, hyperventilating. Shiro noticed this with great alarm, quickly leaning over and wrapping his arms around Lance. He hushed him gently, telling him it was going to be okay.

“Ok Lance, I need you to breathe with me, ok? Breathe.. Just breathe.. In.. and out.. In… and out..” He gently rubbed his boyfriend’s back, breathing in and out. Lance tried his best, his breaths coming out suttery and hiccup-y. 

“There we go, that’s it.. In… and out.. It’s gonna be okay…” 

 

Their anxiety relaxing session was interrupted with a thud on the hood of the car. Shiro quickly locked all the doors via a button on the arm-rest. He held Lance closer, still cooing gentle words and sweet nothing. The boy was sobbing, losing control of his breath again, with almost no hope of regaining it. Lance could see nothing, his face buried in Shiro’s strong chest, but Shiro could see everything. He could see the figure of Lotor and his minions out the windows of the car. He clutched his boyfriend close, glaring at them before closing his eyes. If this was the last moment he could spend with Lance, he would make it count. He lifted Lance’s head, his heart breaking at the tears in his panic-stricken eyes. He gently pressed his lips to Lance’s, kissing him deeply but softly. Lance kissed back, feeling safe in Shiro’s arms, wanting to be as close as possible to him. 

“I love you..” Shiro whispered when they parted. Lance hiccuped, tears streaking over his cheeks still.

“I-I love you too..” He replied. They could hear the cocking of a gun, and time seemed to slow down. This would be their last moment, and they would spend it together.

  
  


Then there were sirens, lots of them, and flashing lights.

 

Shiro nearly started crying himself, hearing the comforting words of “Freeze! Drop your weapons! Hands where we can see ‘em!” 

 

As soon as police took the gun from Lotor and restrained their attackers, Shiro unlocked the doors. Lance was unwilling to let him go, but after some convincing he was able to get out of the car and run over to Lance’s side, scooping his boyfriend up and bringing him over to the ambulance (which was waiting with shock blankets and other items of comfort). The parimedics checked them over quickly, and revealed that they had almost no physical injuries, though Lance did probably have a fracture in his left ankle bone. 

 

Hunk, Pidge and Keith all arrived quickly, fussing over the two immensely. Keith and Hunk were both crying, relieved after the huge worry they’d experienced. Pidge was clinging onto Lance, protective big-sister mode engaged. Soon the chief of police walked over to Shiro and Lance, Chief Alfor. He thanked Lance and Shiro for finally letting them catch Lotor. It was step one in taking down this awful Laboratory. He also informed them that Thace was an undercover cop, which was obvious, but he’d been working on trying to take them down for years. He was a good cop and a good man, and he would have a proper burial, and that they were invited to come.

 

When Shiro and Lance gave police and detectives a run down of what had happened, they were free to go. Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Keith all went back to the trio’s house, gathering in the living room for a relaxing movie night with some of Hunk’s delicious popcorn and nachos. 

 

Lance and Shiro spent that time cuddling with each other, neither of them willing to part ways for a while. The future might be difficult with trying to keep Lance’s identity a secret, but they would work through it. Together. 

 

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end!! This was fun to write, but now it's time to wrap it up. I hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this!  
> And if you want so see some angsty Shklance go check out my other fic "Realize What You're Missing."


End file.
